I Never Told You I Loved You
by Noble Falcon
Summary: Rating for violence, sorry, no lemon this time. Rinoa has a bad dream, and goes to Squall for comfort. R and R please.


I Never Told You I Loved You

_It was dark. Rain fell heavily from the black clouds above. She was running. Her raven bangs were sticking to her forehead. She was cold, wet, and there was a look of terror on her face. She glanced behind her and saw them gaining on her. Soldiers, hundreds of them, probably the bulk of Esthar's forces, were following close behind her. Each wearing a nearly identical uniform, making the crowd look like a single entity, devoid of all normal human feelings. This crowd would show her no mercy. She would not be locked up in the bowels of the sorceress memorial. She would be killed the first opportunity she gave them. She quickened her pace, closing her eyes, concentrating hard. Light emanated from her as her wings spread out behind her, lifting her off the ground. She soared as fast as she could away from the crowd._

"_You will pay for your very existence." said a voice from below her. She glanced down and felt an icy pain shoot through her body. It was Shiva who had spoken. Rinoa fell to the ground, injured by her fury. As her body hit the ground, she was encompassed by demonic flames, and found that Ifrit had also attacked her._

"_Die sinful creature," Ifrit called_ _in his growling voice. Rinoa's wings spread again and carried her away from another hellfire. She was weak, injured and scared. She glanced back, noticing that the guardian forces had dispersed, probably to reappear momentarily, but the horde of soldiers behind her had nearly caught up. She was struck down by a bolt of lightning_.

"_Stay out of my sky!" called Quetzalcoatl soaring mightily overhead. Rinoa got up and ran again. She was fatigued, and the crowd was gaining on her. She bolted into Balamb's streets, and was pulled aside behind a building. It was Squall. She felt some relief seeing him, but the horror of her situation sank in._

"_Get to the docks quickly, there's a boat there for you! Don't worry, I have delt with Leviathan." he told her before she could speak. They stepped out at the same time and found that Esthar's army way finally upon them. Rinoa bolted toward the docks, but Squall turned to face his pursuers. Rinoa was horrified, and stopped dead in her tracks. She heard cries of "why do you defend the sorceress?" and "If you dare defend evil like that you will be killed without hesitation" from the mass of soldiers facing Squall._

"_So be it." _

_He charged cutting down three men in one swing of his mighty blade. He jumped in the air, unleashing a mighty earthquake spell. He landed in the middle of the soldiers, whose attention had completely turned to the fierce warrior who refused to go down. He was cut in the back. Rinoa could feel the blade as if it had ripped her back open too. She felt another blade bury itself in his chest. He cried out in frustration and pain. She began to cry out to him, telling him to run, but she knew he wouldn't. Tears spilled down her face as she watched her love being cut down, one slash at a time. He had killed dozens of them, but more were still coming. Squall's bloody and ripped jacket was hit with a blaze of fire from Ifrit. He discarded it, but a spike of ice pierced through his left shoulder. He cursed Shiva and ripped his shirt off. Now Rinoa could see just how much damage had been done. His chest was ripped and cut, bloody and bruised. The ice was still embedded in his shoulder, but still he fought. He fought for her. He was dying_ _for her._ _This was her fault, she could have stopped him. But she didn't. She didn't do anything but stand there and watch him die. She hated herself for letting the best thing that ever happened to her die. Squall fell to his knees and passed out of her sight. After a few minutes, the crowds attention turned to her, and she was petrified._

_The crowd was upon her in seconds, and as she was being positioned for her execution, she looked back. She saw him on the ground, broken, bloody, beaten. With his last strength, he looked at her, arm extending out to her. She watched the life leave his eyes, and his body went limp. She closed her eyes hard, tears falling freely now. There was a loud noise, then everything went black._

Rinoa awoke with a start. Her body was moist with sweat, her eyes full of tears. She was shaking with fear. _I have get to him, if he's still alive..._ she thought. Realization passed over her, but it did nothing to extinguish her fear. She needed him now.

She got up, dressed in a bath robe, and put on her slippers. She barely noticed where her feat were carrying her. When she arrived at his door, a thought occurred to her. _I don't want to disturb him, what if he's asleep?_ Too late, her hand had already knocked. The door opened almost immediately. She fought back tears. He was _ok_. Perplexed, but alive.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here." she said, and turned to leave. She stopped suddenly when she felt his hand grab hers. Unable to contain herself any longer, she turned and threw her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. She was sobbing hysterically, so Squall led her in and sat her on his bed. He waited there, her hand in his.

"What's the matter?" he asked her when she had finally calmed down. She preceded to tell him about her dream. About how he fought ruthlessly for her. About how she hated herself for not stopping him. About the last look he gave her.

"And the worst part is..." Rinoa began through sobs. She leaned into Squalls chest and felt his arm wrap around her. She felt she didn't deserve such a man. "The worst part is... I... I never..."

"Shhh... calm down." His voice soothed her.

"I... I never told you I loved you..." she finished. Squalls arms tightened around her.

"So tell me now."

Rinoa was taken aback by a reply so aptly spoken. She searched deep inside herself, and her heart confirmed what her mind already knew. Her whole body was aching with love for him.

"I love you, with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my soul." she said into his shoulder. She felt his hand caress her hair once, stroke her cheek, then move to her chin, gently ushering her lips upwards, where they were captured by his. She felt a warmth that started at her lips, then spread throughout her body. She felt warm and safe with this man.

"I love you too, Rinoa." he whispered in her ear.

"Squall...?" she began again, unsure if she should ask or not.

"Yeah?"

"Can I stay here tonight? I'm afraid of my dreams, but if I'm here with you, I know I can get through anything."

"Yes."

"What?" She must have misunderstood.

"You can stay."

With that he gently pulled her backwards into a prone position on his bed. He pulled his blanket over them, wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her tightly. She was very comfortable in his arms, but there was one thing...

"Take off your shirt." she said quietly. "Please just do it." she said in response to his confused look. He did as she asked, and shuddered a little at her gentle caress of his chest. Her fingers rolled over his left shoulder and saw that no ice had pierced it. Over his back, and felt no blade had cut it. She felt the relief wash over her again, and went to sleep almost immediately.

**A/N: just a quick one, please r&r. if you know what "killing three men with one swing of his sword" is referring to (see ), drop me a line, I'll probably review this story with the answer in a week or so. Hope you enjoyed it. - - N.F. - -**


End file.
